Voices from the Field Blog

A vibrant mural beckons passersby with its bright yellow background and multicolored art, juxtaposed alongside the gray, muted colors of the surrounding buildings. The red text above its open windows reads “Brick N Kulture Event Space.” The neon and sparkling hues filling the mural are enough to inspire curiosity. Strangers wander into the adjoining Cultural Collective Café to ask questions, only...

Housing instability in New Jersey is rising at an alarming rate. Over 1 in 4 families do not have any emergency savings at all, creating economic struggle and the inability to afford basic necessities. While these facts are unsettling, organizations are working overtime to battle these conditions and support their community. HomeFront — founded by Connie Mercer and located in Lawrenceville, New...

The daunting task of building a nonprofit organization from the ground up is not for the faint of heart, as Cheryl Brass could attest. Brass is the Creator and Program Coordinator of the newly minted East Brunswick Symphony Orchestra. In her quest to grow the young organization, Brass thought first to partner with the dynamic conductor Nate White as her Artistic Director, and then with the city of...

“I sometimes feel like this, and I really feel a lot of courage after seeing this performance.” 5th grade student, Bridgewater, NJ These were the words of a student who’d just experienced an assembly performance “A Seat for Rosa,” performed by Yearning To Learn Inc through Young Audiences New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania (YANJEP or simply Young Audiences). In the performance, a child tells his...

The mission of the South Jersey Cultural Alliance is that it “connects, empowers, and advocates for artists, communities, and organizations to promote engagement and investment in arts and history in our region.” As Julie Hain, Executive Director of the South Jersey Cultural Alliance, states, “South Jersey is unique and we want to be recognized and celebrated for our uniqueness.” It is that belief...

Emanating passion, it is hard to ignore the exuberance of the Jersey City Theater Center matriarch, Olga Levina. I had the pleasure of speaking with her for just under an hour and in that time, I became enamored with the ardor and dedication which Levina brings to her work. Admittedly, she brought me to tears a number of times as I listened to her speak of her purpose with an intensity beholden to...

The United States recognizes eleven federal holidays, the most recent of which is Juneteenth. The name is a contraction of “June Nineteenth,” commemorating the milestone juncture in which federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation which had been issued by President Abraham Lincoln a full two years prior. The harsh reality of history proves...

"Son, take a good look around. This is your hometown…" (My Hometown, Bruce Springsteen, 1984) Who knew that almost 40 years after The Boss released this iconic song, arts, history, tourism, economic development, and community revitalization would come together under those words to give the borough of Freehold dynamic new meaning? On March 8, I attended the news conference at the Freehold Fire...

More than 13 years ago, I started as the part-time director for this small-but-mighty program at Third Westminster Presbyterian Church at 780 Salem Avenue in Elizabeth called the Institute of Music for Children. As the arts were being cut in schools, the Institute was started by the church in 1995 to help provide arts education to their neighborhood youth, where children could learn and grow...

Join the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey on October 15 for a workshop on connecting community development, creative placemaking, and more! Through the trials and tribulations of the pandemic, community art has become a beacon of light in uncertain times. New Jersey’s local painters, sculptors, community gardeners, musicians, poets, dancers, and all other artists have proven...